Safe Household Water Storage Practices

This indicator measures the existence of safe household water storage practices that reduce the risks of post-collection water contamination. A household is generally defined as one or more people living in shared space (a physical structure or compound) and sharing critical resources such as water, hygiene/sanitation facilities, or food preparation areas. This indicator requires that water be stored in safe containers, and that those containers be clean. A safe water storage container is defined as a drinking water storage vessel which limits the risk of contamination and prevents dipping instruments or hands from coming in contact with the water (e.g. sealed/covered buckets with spigots or narrow-necked jerry cans). The determination of whether a container is clean is based on the presence/absence of dirt, grime, sediment, or other foreign substances on the interior or exterior of the containers.

Method: beneficiary or population-based survey that includes direct observatioin. The existence of safe water storage practices is measured by direct observation during a quantitative, representative household survey. Using the indicator definition, direct observation will determine whether the container is both (a) safe - meaning it is of a type that limits the risk of further contamination and (b) clean
Calculation: the percent is derived by dividing the number of households surveyed who store their drinking water safely in clean containers by the total number of households surveyed in the target population. Both numerator and denominator are reported as well as the percent.
Numerator: number of households surveyed who store their drinking water safely in clean containers
Denominator: number of households surveyed in the target population

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q: May I see one of your water storage containers?
A:
Yes
No

OBSERVE are the storage containers clean and do they limit the risk of contamination?

Check all that apply of the following:
The style of container prevents anything used to draw the water from the containers and/or hands from coming into contact with the water i.e. a bucket has a tap, water is able to be poured from a jerry can rather than having to use cups or jugs to collect water from the storage container
There is no dirt, grime, or other foreign substances on the interior of the container
There is no dirt, grime, or other foreign substances on the exterior of the container
The container has a cover/lid